


Secret Admirers

by reylocalligraphy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Are you an angel???, Ben Solo is a clueless boy who needs a hug, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Exams, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Graduation, Music, Mutual Pining, Prom, Secret Admirer, Singing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, anonymous notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-17 14:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16097903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reylocalligraphy/pseuds/reylocalligraphy
Summary: On the first day of school, Ben notices a new girl.She’s a brunette, three neatly wrapped buns protruding from the back of her head. Her hazel eyes twinkle, shining almost as brightly as her pearly white teeth when she flashes a dazzling smile.There is just one problem.A large, triangular oil grease stain takes up the center of her shirt, the dark yellow seeping into her collared white uniform.And that may or may not have been Ben’s fault.===When Rey transfers into Ben’s high school, he is instantly intrigued. Unfortunately, his fat mouth simply cannot shut up in her presence.





	Secret Admirers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dalzo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalzo/gifts).



> This fic is for the magnificent, legendary Dalzo. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Congratulations on one of the biggest days of your life! I wish you have the most AMAZING journey ahead of you.
> 
> Unfortunately, I cannot fly to Australia to hug you, so I can only yeet love at you virtually!! I know you mentioned never having read a HS AU set in Australia, I hope you like this one! (and peep the _first ever Ruby/Jar Jar tag on AO3!)_

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Year 10 ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

On the first day of Year 10, Ben notices a new girl - an unfamiliar face that nudges right into the corner of his vision.

 

But before he could turn, the girl vanishes, whisked away in the rapids of the hallway-filling crowd.

 

He blinks the memory away. After all, who would _possibly_ choose to transfer to the hellhole that is Canto Bight High School?

 

~ * ~

 

But it turns out, his instincts are correct. Ben catches a better glimpse of the new girl again, a week later.

 

She’s a brunette, three neatly wrapped buns protruding from the back of her head. Her hazel eyes twinkle, shining almost as brightly as her pearly white teeth when she flashes a dazzling smile.

 

There is just one problem with her.

 

A large, triangular oil grease stain takes up the center of her shirt, the dark yellow seeping into her collared white uniform.

 

And that may or may not have been Ben’s fault.

 

When the bell rang, he dashed to the canteen so he wouldn’t miss Pizza Day, pockets jingling with the metallic clang of coins juggling around.

 

Oh, how he hated his tall stature sometimes. In his rush, he did not notice the short girl with ebony hair that seemed to defy gravity with how it curled upwards. He stumbled straight into her, causing the short girl (Ben thinks her name is a flower. Petunia? No. Lily? No, that’s not right either.) to topple backwards, her plate of pizza flying high into the air.

 

Time seemed to freeze as it happened. Hundreds of peering eyes zeroed in on the flying pizza, watching its slow descent…

 

When it landed flat onto the new girl’s chest.

 

Her eyes were no longer twinkling. They blaze with an ardent fury, burning ferociously like a bushfire.

 

“Bugger,” she curses, lifting the hems of her shirt to take a closer look. The slice of pizza slides off, hitting the ground with a _splat_.

 

Her friend - aha! Rose was the short girl’s name, Ben remembers - rushes to stand up. “Crikey, your uniform is ruined!” Rose cries. “I’m so sorry, Rey!”

 

 _Rey_ , Ben imprints into his mind, savoring the three letters. _What an interesting name._

 

“No, it’s not your fault at all,” Rey soothes her friend. “Are you hurt?”

 

Rose shakes her head. “I’m fine,” she responds tersely. Her gaze suddenly turns steely and scary, glimmering with an intensity even fiercer than her friend’s blazing eyes, as it lands on him.

 

Ben swallows.

 

“You’re right, it’s not my fault. It’s _this bloody git’s fault_.”

 

“I’m really sorry,” Ben blurts out. “It was an accident.”

 

He hastily grabs a chunk of napkins from the nearest table. “Here, let me,” he states as he steps forward, extending his hand to wipe away the oil greases.

 

The napkin barely touches the cotton of Rey’s shirt before she slaps away his hand. The resounding slap echoes throughout the canteen, which has become so silent he could hear the floor creak as he shifted his weight from one leg to another.

 

“What are you doing?” Rey hisses. “ _Don’t_ touch me, you _monster_.”

 

His eyes widen in shock at hearing her straight dismissal. Anger shoots through his veins, overcoming his original instinct of further apologizing.

 

“You know what? I’m not sorry.” The words tumble out of Ben’s mouth. “You’re just a nobody, a nobody who thinks she’s all high and mighty.”

 

Ben stops as he notices that the new girl’s eyes have glossed over, a shiny, watery coat spreading across. Her eyelids flutter open and closed rapidly.

 

“Wait-”

 

Rose turns on her heel, pulling Rey with her. They exit out the door, most likely to the outside areas of the school - somewhere Ben’s pale skin that burned under the painful glare of sunlight could never withstand.

 

Ben’s head swivels to the canteen line. Crap, the pizza was all gone.

 

~ * ~

 

Weeks pass by since that awful Pizza Friday. For once, Ben is grateful for how large Canto Bight High is - four hundred students per grade helps make for an extremely easy environment to avoid Rey at all times.

 

The last bell of the day rings, and he strolls out the classroom door without a second glance. He never liked world geography - or, as the school district likes to pretentiously name that course, _Human Society and Its Environment_ \- anyway.

 

He decides to go find Ms. Ruby, his music teacher, who was incidentally his favorite teacher as well. As a Year 10, Ben needs to select what courses to take in the next two school years so he could graduate and earn his High School Certificate. He has been heavily considering to take two more years of Music, but his parents questioned that decision.

 

Perhaps Ms. Ruby could give him some advice on how to quash his parents’ qualms about a potential career in music.

 

His steps near the music room, halting in front of the closed wooden door. He raises his hand to knock, but he hears something that causes him to freeze.

 

There is someone _singing_ inside the room.

 

He lowers his hands and turns to place his ear on the door. The voice - oh, she must be an angel! - sounds like a mixture of honey and caramel, so warm and sweet and soft. He doesn’t recognize the words she is singing, but his ears have never been blessed with anything so spellbinding.

 

“Excellent,” Ms. Ruby lightly applauses. “Now, let’s try that second verse again, but with…”

 

Ben steps away from the door. As much as his mind is screaming and pleading to stay and listen to the angelic voice, he resists the temptation. He’ll come find his teacher another day; and, perhaps, the voice too.

 

~ * ~

 

Alas, after three months and nineteen days (not that Ben is counting or anything), he meets Rey face to face again.

 

After leaving his Agricultural Technology class, Ben swings his backpack over one shoulder, ready to walk home. Strolling outside, he glimpses a shadow playing soccer alone on the field.

 

He finds himself drawn to that figure for unknown reasons, his feet automatically bringing him to the field.

 

As he draws nearer, the shadow comes into clearer shape. It has a defined outline of three round buns on the head.

 

“Rey,” he whispers in surprise. The girl mentioned whips her head around.

 

Her brows furrow. “Nice to see you, Ben,” she grits out. Her tone makes it quite clear that she does not, in fact, find it _nice_ to see him again. Rey returns her focus to soccer, kicking the ball into the air and bouncing it on her knee repeatedly.

 

Then, she sets the ball to five feet in front of the goal. She walks backward, before charging forward and kicking the ball into the goal with a loud, triumphant yell.

 

“You should kick with the side of your shoe,” Ben can’t help the words ushering out of his lips. “It might improve your accuracy. You kind of kick like a girl.”

 

He winces immediately, clenching his lips shut. Oh, why does all the filters in his brain and mouth malfunction when he was around Rey? He didn’t want to demean her abilities at all.

 

To his surprise, Rey does not seem mad. Rather, a thoughtful expression crosses her face.

 

“Interesting,” she murmurs. “Alright, let me try that instead.” She sets the ball down in its initial position, pivoting her foot so she would be kicking with the side of her shoe instead.

 

With a powerful swing, her foot collides with the ball.

 

It sails into the air, forming a perfect arc, before it crashes right into Ben’s face.

 

Ben immediately stumbles backward at the ball’s impact, falling onto the soft tussles of green grass that has just began to grow with the ushering of a new season in spring. He grasps the right side of his face, his fingertips smoothing over the skin.

 

“You’re right, it is pretty accurate. Thanks Ben!”

 

He lifts his head to stare into Rey’s unforgiving eyes. Her shoulders heave as she breathes heavily. Finally, she turns to depart the field, leaving Ben alone on the field.

 

He pulls out his phone and enables his front view camera, glancing at the state of his face.

 

Yep, that is unmistakably a purple bruise swelling around his right eye. _Bollocks_.

 

 _You deserve it_ , a voice inside him whispers.

 

~ * ~

 

The bruise slowly heals, though Ben needed to use concealer the first week after, so the injury wouldn’t look too intense. He would have been the laughingstock of the school, if anyone found out that the _new_ _girl_ kicked a soccer ball at his eye.

 

Spring turns into summer, and soon there is only a week left in the school year. Ben really looks forward to summer - of course, it is a universal phenomenon for all students to love summer break, but even moreso for Ben. After all, here in Australia, Ben gets to celebrate Christmas during their summer break. His mouth waters at the thought of the Solo family’s annual holiday feast: Christmas ham, a seafood platter than featured every crustacean under the sun, the perfectly sweet Pavlova, and - his favorite - the incredible, crisp delicacy that was pork crackling.

 

Ben opens his locker, prying the metal door open with his fingers. He dumps his textbooks in his backpack. _Three more exams and you’re free_ , he reminds himself.

 

His footsteps grind to a halt when the mystery angelic voice he heard many months ago pipes up again.

 

This time, the voice is much louder, and her tone sounds much more cheerful. He marvels at her smooth, silky tone, the music _melting_ into his soul. Ben imagines that if this voice were a physical substance, it would be as sweet and perfect as the ambrosia the ancient Greek gods and goddesses of Olympus drank to live immortally.

 

_Is it possible to fall in love with a person’s voice, without knowing who they are?_

 

Ben frantically tries to search for the voice’s origin, but to no avail. The final notes of her singing fade away, into the winds of the school.

 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Year 11 ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

“You reckon they will ever get rid of these bloody boring assemblies?” the boy sitting next to Ben, a head full of fiery red hair, sneers.

 

“I heard that some students signed a petition against assemblies and lodged the complaint to the school distract a few years ago,” the tall blonde on the other side of Ben replies. “They weren’t having a bar of it. Assemblies had to stay.”

 

“Really? Well, I’m sure if my father complained to the board of education, we’d get rid of assemblies in no time,” the ginger bites back.

 

Ben sighs as they continue to bicker, him woefully stuck in between the blonde and the ranga like a sandwich. He glances at his watch; the assembly better start _soon_.

 

Like clockwork, Principal Ackbar steps onto the stage. He clears his throat, stepping up to the microphone.

 

“Doesn’t he look like a fish?” the blonde whispers. The ginger sniggers at her remark. Ben cocks his head; from a certain point of view, their principal did resemble a fish.

 

“Welcome to another year at Canto Bight High School!” the principal exclaims with excitement. “We are glad to welcome everyone back for another amazing year. First off, general announcements…”

 

Ben instantly starts to tune out. His scattered, random thoughts take over.

 

Twenty minutes later, he is in the middle of counting the number of ways beef can be cooked - _beef stew, beef pie, beef soup, beef kebabs, beef casserole..._ \- when something makes his ears perk up.

 

“- Rey Johnson, who will perform a song for us! Please give her a round of applause!”

 

Ben’s eyes widen. His eyes follow her path walking across the stage. Rey, the girl who he has unintentionally antagonized in the past, could _sing_?

 

“Thank you, Principal Ackbar,” she speaks into the microphone while turning her guitar sideways. “This is an original song I wrote last year, called ‘A Nobody Like Me.’”

 

He blanches at hearing her song title, his face instantly paling to the hue of a ghost. There is no possibility that it was a mere coincidence Ben had called her a “nobody” during the horrific Pizza Friday mess a year ago.

 

“Who does she think she is, with a song title like that?” the ginger scoffs. “She’s probably just trying to earn people’s pity.”

 

“Shut up,” Ben seethes. The red-haired boy clamps his mouth shut.

 

The moment Rey utters the first word of her song, Ben knows he is screwed.

 

Rey is the _girl_.

 

The angel whose mystery voice has haunted his dreams for many months.

 

His heart pounds again his chest. He wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans, his mind racing a mile a minute.

 

Ben wants to stand up and run out of here. But he can’t. His soles are firmly glued to the floor. Like both times before, Rey’s glorious, stunning voice freezes him with a magnetic intensity, drawing him in like a Siren.

 

His eyes have never lain upon a more beautiful sight. Sitting on the stage, with her brown hair spilling out onto her shoulders, skillfully strumming a guitar and singing with that _perfect_ voice of hers, she looks like a goddess.

 

A goddess who detests every fiber of his being.

 

~ * ~

 

After her performance, the student body is released from the confines of the assembly. With ecstatic cheers, students leap out of their seats and exit the stuffy room.

 

Ben gulps in a large breath of air. It sure feels nice to be able to breathe again.

 

Something gleams in the corner of his eye. He whips around to find the sunlight reflecting off of something - something metallic, perhaps? - on the stage.

 

He speed-walks to the edge of the stage to find that it is a guitar pick. _Rey’s guitar pick,_  his mind supplies.

 

Ben gathers the forgotten guitar pick and buries it in his pocket. He needs to go find Rey.

 

~ * ~

 

As fate would have it, Rey and Ben are placed in the same mathematics class. Seeing the back of her head when he strolls into the classroom, he exhales in relief.

 

“Rey,” he calls for her. She turns around, staring into his eyes like piercing lasers. “You left your guitar pick on the stage earlier.”

 

She instantly grabs the pick from his open palm. “That’s where it was? I searched everywhere for it. Did you steal it?”

 

“ _What_?” Ben cries, his heart panging in pain. “Of course not.”

 

Rey harrumphs at his denial, clearly skeptical. “Thank you, I guess.”

 

Ben shoves both hands into his jean pockets awkwardly. “Your performance was - er - really good.”

 

Her eyes widen comically at hearing his praise. Before she could respond, the maths teacher Mr. Binks walks in, effectively silencing the entire classroom.

 

~ * ~

 

Ben and Rey don’t really talk after that, even though a more cordial truce seems to form between them.

 

That is, until Ben walks into maths one morning to a sight that makes him want to hurl and scrub his eyelids until the end of time.

 

In one of the chairs, Rey is straddling a boy (Ben thinks his name is Poe Dameron. What he does know is that he wants to _punch_ Poe Dameron), her legs perched over both sides of his hips, as they embrace in a deep, sloppy kiss. Her fingers card through his curly black locks, while his hand draws circles on her back, drifting lower and lower…

 

Ben averts his eyes, choosing to stare straight at the ground, as he walks to his seat. He tries to shake the memory out of his head, but it is hard to do so when he could _hear_ them making out from across the classroom.

 

His heart feels like it has been stomped on by a stampede of bison, then shredded to threads by the violent claws of a koala. It is at that moment Ben realizes the extent of his feelings for her.

 

And it frightens Ben to no end.

 

“Alright, break it up,” Mr. Binks scolds as he enters the classroom. “Mesa don’t want to see that in _my_ classroom.”

 

~ * ~

 

That afternoon, Ben absolutely does not walk to the McDonalds and order four boxes of chicken nuggets.

 

He positively does not blast Celine Dion and Olivia Newton John in his room, while binging his nuggets.

 

He definitely does not belt the lyrics to all of the soulful ballads, while fat teardrops endlessly stream onto his nuggets as he recounts all his bitter encounters with Rey versus her canoodling with Poe. Nope, not at all.

 

~ * ~

 

The next few terms pass normally for Ben, other than the heartbreak he learns to nurse.

 

He skips the Year 11 Formal, even though nearly his entire grade attends. He chooses to stay at home that Saturday night, watching romantic comedies with his mother. (Of course, he would never admit to that if anyone asked.)

 

When he returns to school Monday morning, the whole school is abuzz with rumors. His new friends Phasma and Hux, the blonde and the ginger from the assembly, greet him at his locker.

 

“Mate, you missed so much drama!” Hux exclaims. Ben merely shrugs; he never was one for gossip.

 

Phasma nods. “Yeah. You know Rey Johnson, the girl singing at the assembly?”

 

Ben immediately straightens his back, his eyes snapping to Phasma. “Yes.”

 

“Well, she publicly dumped her boyfriend during their dance!” Hux whispers. Apparently he and Poe has had some old beef before, so Hux was really excited to see Poe put in his place. “It was amazing. She thoroughly humiliated him.”

 

“I heard that Poe was grinding into Rey, a _little_ too closely if you know what I mean,” Phasma adds. “Then, he said something to her that made her turn around and punch him.”

 

“Yeah, like a real punch! Not just a slap, a punch!” Hux chimes in.

 

The corners of Ben’s lips tug into a warm grin. “That’s freaking awesome,” he replies.

 

His heart feels a thousand times lighter already.

 

~ * ~

 

Two weeks later, the entire canteen breaks out in laughter when Poe shrieks at the top of his lungs and dashes out of the room. His friend peers into Poe’s plate, curiously examining it, before he pulls something out.

 

A large, plastic cockroach dangles from his fingers.

 

The table in the corner of the room roars the loudest. Their center occupant, Rey, presses her lips together as she watches everything unfold, trying to hold back a wide smile. She scans the room, searching for the executor of the prank.

 

When Ben catches her eye, he throws her a wink.

 

Rey’s eyes widen. Then, from what Ben can see from her lips’ movements, she mouths a “thank you.”

 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Year 12 ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Year 12 is a chaotic blur. Ben throws himself into his academics, knowing that he needs to study his butt off and excel in his six national exams.

 

In a turn of events, he shares most of his classes with Rey. It is a pleasant surprise to Ben, as his feelings for her continue to grow exponentially. But an even better surprise is when Rey voluntarily begins to speak to him; even just one-line quips asking him how to solve homework problems could make him feel as though he is laying on a cloud, living a dream.

 

One afternoon after his last class ended, he enters an empty classroom and pulls out his Ancient History notes to study.

 

Honestly, why did he choose to take Ancient History, the most tedious subject known to humankind? When he enrolled in the course, he thought he’d learn cool things, like how Pompeii met its fate of doom. Instead, Ben needed to recall what ancient Romans wore, what they ate, their beliefs, and even what their dining table was referred to as (a “triclinium”).

 

Rey’s bright, cheery voice breaks through his cloud of disgruntled thoughts.

 

“Ben?” she asks, her head peeking into the classroom. “I couldn’t find another empty room, and the bus doesn’t leave for another hour, could I join you?”

 

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Of course!” he graciously replies, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.

 

“What are you studying?” Rey sits down in the chair adjacent to Ben’s seat, taking out her notebooks.

 

Ben groans. “Ancient History. That and maths are my worst subjects.”

 

“Oh, yikes - history’s just _awful_. So many useless dates and facts,” Rey remarks. “Speaking of maths, did you know that Ms. Ruby just got engaged to Mr. Binks?”

 

“Bloody hell, _really_?” he gapes. “That’s crazy.” His mind, still wallowing in disbelief, tries to wrap his head around the image of his favorite teacher standing next to Mr. Binks. “Ms. Ruby could do so much better than him.”

 

“I agree,” Rey giggles, her gleeful laughs ringing in Ben’s ears like delightful bells. “Who knows what goes on in her brilliant mind.”

 

“Indeed…” Ben’s voice trails off.

 

“Do you want to, uh, study together?” Rey asks shyly, her cheeks tinging pink and her eyes adamantly staring at her notes.

 

Ben beams. “I’d love to.”

 

~ * ~

 

One joint study session turns into two, two turns into four, and four turns into a weekly planned event between the both of them for the rest of the school year.

 

His new friendship with Rey has made his final year of high school a lot more joyful and less stressful than he had anticipated. He enjoys every minute spent with her, during classes and their study sessions. They have crafted inside jokes and coined a secret handshake (one that had led Phasma to call Ben “absolutely whipped”).

 

Today happens to be the day of Rey’s singing performance, a significant ordeal for her, since she would be graded for it. She had ranted to Ben about it all of last week, while Ben sympathetically nodded and told her he knew she would smash it.

 

Little does she know, upon learning of her performance date, he had jotted it down and planned to be there, to support her, and perhaps surprise her.

 

When the last bell rings, Ben rushes out of the school. He returns home and changes clothes, something more appropriate for watching a formal performance.

 

Then - with great trepidation and nervousness - he speeds to the flower shop near Canto Bight High, a scattering of dollar bills clutched in his fist. Ben decides on purchasing a bundle of daisies, Rey’s favorite flowers. Splashes of tangerine outline the pink petals; all of them soft, beautiful, and strong - traits that remind him of Rey.

 

When he arrives at school again, he slips into the back of the auditorium.

 

“Up next is Rey Johnson, Year 12!”

 

A scattering of applause sounds as Rey walks across the stage. She stands in the center, her hand trembling as she adjusts the microphone to her height. Rey takes a deep breath, while smoothing down her black velvet dress, fingers brushing over the magenta ribbon wrapped around her waist.

 

The background track starts to play, and the words flow from her lips.

 

Ben is instantly mesmerized. Like all the moments before when he has heard her singing, Rey’s intoxicating, golden voice hypnotizes Ben.

 

He loses track of all sense of time while he watches her. It’s as if the whole universe has fallen asleep, placing the only spotlight on Rey and her gifted voice.

 

When the song comes to an end, Rey presses her lips together nervously and takes a deep curtsy. The graders politely clap for her performance. From the last row of the auditorium, Ben bursts into applause.

 

He sneaks out of the theater, the bouquet still tightly gripped in his fingers. He wants to go backstage, give the daisies to Rey, and wish her the deepest congratulations - but his heart is beating so rapidly he can barely think. Ben wipes his sweaty palms on his dark trousers, bending down with his hands on his knees so he can take large gulps of air.

 

He can’t do it.

 

What if Rey laughs at him when he hands her the flowers? What if Rey just dismisses him without thanks? What if Rey just _ignores_ him?

 

Ben doesn’t think he can handle more humiliation or heartbreak. He runs across the school hallways to where he knew Rey’s locker lay. He sets the bouquet in front of its door.

 

Reaching into his backpack, he pulls out a texta and a post-it. _Congratulations, you were amazing,_ he writes.

 

Ben tilts his head, rereading the four words, before he decides to add a few more words.

 

_From a secret admirer._

 

Satisfied, he caps his marker and turns to leave the school.

 

He doesn’t see the shadow lurking behind the adjacent wall, staring at his back as he departs.

 

~ * ~

 

When Ben returns to school the next day, Rey doesn’t mention the flowers to him. He does not know whether he should be grateful or disappointed. He merely hopes that she liked them.

 

They continue to hold joint study sessions. English Advanced, Ancient History, mathematics, music - they blow through them all.

 

Today, they are separately reviewing for their science subjects - for Ben, chemistry, and for Rey, physics. Because they cannot help each other with the other’s topic of review, the two sit in silence, dedicating their minds to studying with a laser sharp focus.

 

Despite the absolute reticence, other than the occasional rustling of paper when one of them flips a page, Ben has never felt more at ease than by Rey’s side.

 

Once, when Ben catches Rey’s gaze at him during studying, she instantly looks back down at her notebooks. He does not want to speak up, but he could have sworn her cheeks flushed red - and that her notes are be upside down.

 

~ * ~

 

Ben is so caught up in his exam reviewing and his budding friendship with Rey, that the Year 12 Formal slips his mind.

 

It is the ultimate event of Year 12, the peak of being a soon-to-graduate student. Everyone attending the dance dons beautiful outfits, elaborate tuxedos for the males and exquisite gowns and hairdos for the females. The hallways hum and chatter with excitement as the Formal’s date nears, gossip flying rampantly as students one-by-one pair up to be dates at the ball. They try to outdo one another in their promposals, each one more grand and public than the last.

 

As the days continue to slip by, Ben grows increasingly nervous about the Year 12 Formal. Should he ask Rey? Should he go alone? Should he even _go_? He had skipped the Year 11 Formal. If he asks Rey though, she would likely reject him. After all, she had ignored his flowers. Maybe she didn’t receive them? Or didn’t know they were from him. He did make the note anonymous...

 

Just _thinking_ about the dance escalates his blood pressure, social anxiety dominating his whole body’s nerves. He tries to shake the event out of his head, but he can’t.

 

Especially when Rey brings it up first, between the two of them.

 

“Are you going to the dance?” Rey asks, books tucked under her arm as they stroll across the school courtyard after one of their study sessions.

 

Ben’s footsteps slow to a halt. The color drains from his face. “The - the dance?” he stammers.

 

Rey’s giggles ring cheerfully. “The Year 12 Formal, of course!”

 

“Oh.” The hem of his uniform slides between his fingers, his gaze fixated on a spot on the ground. “I don’t know yet.”

 

“I see,” Rey replies, nodding. Ben’s eyes snap to her face, but he finds that her expression is unreadable. “If you do go, would you go with someone?”

 

“If I - _what_?” Ben is completely gobsmacked. Blood rushes through his ears, his heart pounding so rapidly he could barely breathe. “I honestly don’t know. It depends on that someone, I guess.”

 

That is an utter lie. Ben _knows_ , with 100% certainty, who he would ask to the Formal if he had the courage to do so.

 

Rey’s smile wavers a little, but she stands firm. A thoughtful expression crosses her face for a split second, before she perks up and gives Ben a parting wave. “Okay, I need to go, Ben! Thanks for today!”

 

“Bye, Rey!” His heart continues to beat quickly, filling with both worry over the dance and sadness at her departure.

 

~ * ~

 

The next morning, when he opens his locker door, a slip of paper flutters out onto the floor. Ben crouches down to pick it up, his eyebrows furrowing at the unfamiliar sight.

 

“From one secret admirer to another,” he reads aloud, “will you go to the dance with me?”

 

His body freezes, his breath caught in his throat, as his mind begins to process the words. _From one secret admirer to another…_

 

“So, will you?” Rey’s voice chimes aloud from his side. His head jerks upward, shifting his glance from the note to her face.

 

In her hands, she holds a bouquet of white calla lilies - his favorite flowers.

 

“I know that the flowers and the note were from you, the night of my performance.”

 

Ben’s jaw drops further at this revelation; Rey _had_ known after all.

 

“I saw you leave right after you dropped them off. I never got to tell you, but thank you so much for them. I _love_ daisies!”

 

The dread nestled in his chest stills, easing into blooms of joy and surprise. But Ben is still unable to speak.

 

“We may have gotten off to a bad start,” Rey continues, the words streaming out of her mouth like a quick and violent tsunami. Ben’s heart falls at her words - after all, he was the reason as to why she has hated him, perhaps _still_ hating him. “But you never held it against me. The pizza incident was an accident, one that I never apologized to you for -”

 

Ben shakes his head vehemently, his curls brushing the sides of his face. “No, that was my fault. I shouldn’t have ran in the canteen.”

 

“Okay, I guess we were both at fault. However, you’ve been nothing but kind and gentle, while I treated you like trash. You wanted to help me that time in soccer - though you were a bit of a jerk. You helped me retrieve my guitar pick. You let me study with you, and even came out to support me in my performance!” she exclaims, her fingers running through her long, radiant brown hair. “I can’t thank you enough for all of that.”

 

Rey takes a deep breath, before she cements their fate. “I know I’ve committed a lot of wrongs, but I really like you a lot - will you be interested in going to the Formal with me?”

 

His eyes are as wide as saucers, stretching across his face in disbelief. He can’t think, he can’t speak, he can’t even do so much as blinking. The two stand in silence, each minute ticking by lengthily.

 

“I’m sorry,” Rey whispers, her lips trembling nervously like a leaf scattered in the cold autumn wind, her eyelashes batting furiously to halt the tears pricking beneath her eyelids. “I don’t deserve to be with a kindhearted, brilliant person like you, I don’t know what I was thinking -”

 

“I’d love to,” Ben interrupts, his brain finally catching up to the flow of the conversation. His long, slender fingers grasp around the root of the lilies, as he gazes down into Rey’s hazel pupils. “I’d love to go to the dance with you.”

 

Rey shoots Ben the most illuminating smile he has ever seen. He returns his own wide grin, teeth peeking through parted lips.

 

~ * ~

 

When he goes to Rey’s house to pick her up for the Year 12 Formal, he nearly faints on the doorstep at the sight of her.

 

Rey is a transcendent sight to behold. She beams at him as she held open the door, her left fist trapping the smooth silk of her evening gown within her fingers. His gaze falls to the sheer bodice, the pale blue fabric covered with sequins and embroidery highlighting her creamy arms. With a demure grin, Rey twirls, the flowing skirt fanning around her, the blue of the dress as radiant and vivid as a morning sky.

 

“Shall we?” Rey asks, her eyes sparkling with amusement and joy. Ben nods, wordless offering his hand, encased in a black leather glove, out to her.

 

Ben ends up having a blast that night - words he never thought he would use to describe a night consisting of sweaty, hormonal teenagers who cannot _dance_ on the dance floor. Making faces and faux hugging Rey in the photobooth, going back to the food table for seconds and thirds (and _fourths,_ for Rey), awkwardly swinging his arms and legs but not caring because he was there with _Rey_ ; all in all, a perfect night.

 

A night that becomes even more perfect when Rey delicately deposits a light kiss on his cheek after he walks home with her.

 

This time, he really does faint on the doorstep.

 

~ * ~

 

Ben cannot describe what it is, but something palpable has changed within their relationship. The thrill of the dance, an intimate experience for them both, flows through their blood for weeks. However, the impending doom of exams looms upon them, shrouding all students in a dark shadow of hopelessness, with the understanding that these exams will determine their futures , evaporating all semblances of remaining joy.

 

“You ready?” Rey leans on the locker adjacent to his, her long ponytail draping down from the back of her head like a thin waterfall. Stacks of textbooks, battered notebooks, and binders are precariously balanced within her arms.

 

Ben gently shuts his locker door, nodding satisfactorily when he hears the _click_. “Yeah, I’ve got all my stuff for Ancient History and maths in my bag,” he gestures to the backpack dangling from his right shoulder. “Would you like me to help?”

 

Rey instantly drops half her stack in his arms. They both tuck their respective pile of books under one arm. Rey’s free hand edges towards his ever so slightly, her skin brushing his fingertips. Ben unfurls his fist, entwining his fingers through hers.

 

Her palm pressed against his, they stroll through the hallway, a thread of hope and fondness circling them as one.

 

~ * ~

 

“On this day, we end one journey and begin our next,” Rey speaks behind the podium, beaming down on the four hundred graduating students. “What we now seek is not behind us - it is ahead.”

 

“In these halls of Canto Bight High, we’ve experienced joy. Love. Friendship. Sadness. Hatred. Too much stress.” A chorus of laughter and agreements spreads across the field at that.

 

“For the first time in our lives, we are set to walk our own paths,” Rey continues, her voice confident and unwavering. “And we will have these experiences to build upon, to add to. One of the greatest guiding goals you can set for yourself, right now on this monumental day, is to commit to the journey, rather than the outcome.”

 

Ben’s eyes shine with pride at his girlfriend’s words, his smile stretched so wide his jaw aches.

 

“Your focus determines your reality. But our journey is long ahead of us, so it is okay for that reality to change. Whatever you set your mind to do - whether that’s a concrete aspiration, like a job, or a simple life mission, like staying happy - you can achieve it.”

 

Rey takes a deep breath, before uttering the final words of her speech. “Class of 2018, congratulations! I cannot wait to see how all our journeys go next.”

 

Applause spreads across the atrium like wildfire, before hollers and whoops join in as well. Ben leaps to his feet, clapping and whistling loudly. He couldn’t wait to spend the next few years with Rey as well, with them attending universities only twenty minutes apart.

 

Rey gracefully slides off the stage, her feet whirling across the floor before she jumps into his arms, wrapping him in a tight embrace and smiling into his chest.

 

He leans down, his lips gently pressing onto the soft skin of her forehead, while his fingers run through her hair.

 

For the new girl and the clueless boy, this is only the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> [Ranga: an Australian term for a ginger-haired individual]  
> [Texta: an Australian term for a marker to write with]  
> [Rey’s singing performance dress reference [photo](https://i.imgur.com/Z4Ab9l1.jpg)]  
> [Rey’s prom dress reference [photo](https://i.imgur.com/ImtwmxF.jpg)]
> 
> Thank you to the following group of AMAZING people for helping me on this fic! These 4 authors all write PHENOMENAL Reylo fics, go check them out!  
> \- [Aimz777](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aimz777/pseuds/Aimz777): Thank you so much for educating me on Australian high school customs, inner workings, traditions, etc., for MONTHS! I remember one night when I was researching Australian educational reforms at 2am that I realized that I seriously needed help to make this fic genuinely fit the Australian context. You have been the most amazing, helpful person; thank you for taking so much time to help me with this fic.  
> \- [Kylohhh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kylohhh): Thank you for being a wonderful beta!!! You made my writing loads better, and you know Dalzo / Dalzo’s writing like no other. Thank you <3  
> \- [Aquawolfgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaWolfGirl/pseuds/AquaWolfGirl): Thank you for helping me significantly on writing Rey’s prom dress!!! Without her help, my description of the dress would have been something like “it was really, really pretty.”  
> \- [RebelRebel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelRebel/pseuds/RebelRebel): Thank you for your gracious, wonderful feedback in helping me write the graduation speech!
> 
> Once again, an enormous HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Dalzo!!! My biggest fave, greatest friend in this fandom. You are a precious, shining gem in every way. Thank you for being one of the most amazing friends to me for the last seven months. You are so kind, so sweet, so supportive, so positive, your words never fail to brighten my day. And I cannot say enough praise for how phenomenal your own writing is. From how you continually inspire me to create more calligraphy, to never leaving me in complete awe from your own beautiful, incomparable writing, to being a supportive, motivating, and uplifting being in my life in general, I bestow my deepest gratitude and sincerely hope the best for what’s to come for you!!! <3
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you liked this Reylo fic, please consider checking out my other works!  
> COMPLETED:  
> \- [Make A Splash](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15234105/chapters/35333478) (an Olympic swimmers AU, tooth rotting fluff, enemies to lovers)  
> \- [As the Clock Winds Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15336321) (another High School AU oneshot, pure fluff)  
> IN PROGRESS:  
> \- [Unwritten Oaths](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15610749/chapters/36245412) (a Hogwarts Head Girl/Head Boy slow burn)  
>   
> Come say hi to me on Tumblr ([@reylocalligraphy](https://reylocalligraphy.tumblr.com)) and Twitter ([@reylocallig](https://twitter.com/reylocallig))!


End file.
